The seventh chapter of Shir HaShirim reaches its climax: after the nations praise the Congregation of Israel limb by limb, a comprehensive statement of praise follows, and from this point onward the speakers shift - from here on, these are the words of the Shechinah to the Congregation of Israel in exile among the nations. In this lesson we will study from verse 6 until the end of the chapter: the praise of tefillin and the nazirite vow, Israel standing like a palm tree before Nebuchadnezzar, their steadfastness in faith against their seducers, and finally going out to the field and the vineyards - to the synagogues and the study halls.
רֹאשֵׁךְ עָלַיִךְ כַּכַּרְמֶל וְדַלַּת רֹאשֵׁךְ כָּאַרְגָּמָן מֶלֶךְ אָסוּר בָּרְהָטִים׃ - "Your head upon you is like Carmel, and the tresses of your head like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses."
"Your head upon you is like Carmel" - this refers to what rests upon your head, and what is that? These are the tefillin worn on the head, of which it is said, "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of Hashem is called upon you, and they shall revere you." The nations see the tefillin and are awed and terrified by it. And what do we learn from this? Strength and awe, like a solid mountain rock, and Carmel is prominent among mountains. Thus, the tefillin on the head are like Mount Carmel - strong and steadfast, keeping the nations at bay and inspiring awe in them.
It is told of the Vilna Gaon that rioters once broke into his home. His disciples were sitting and studying in the entryway, and the rioters began beating them and sought to push inside into the room of the Gra. The Gra heard the commotion and came out, and the moment they saw him - they were terrified and fled immediately. They said to him: "Rabbeinu, this is a miracle!" He said to them: "It is neither a miracle nor anything out of the ordinary. 'Your head upon you is like Carmel - these are the tefillin on the head, of which it is said: And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of Hashem is called upon you, and they shall revere you.'" They said to him: "Rabbeinu, we too are wearing tefillin!" He replied: "It does not say 'tefillin that are on the head,' but rather 'tefillin that are in the head' (she-ba-rosh). Placing the tefillin on the head is merely a technical act, but once they are on the head - bring them inside. The head itself must be immersed in the tefillin. When the tefillin are truly inside the mind, then 'all the peoples of the earth shall see... and they shall revere you'; but if they are merely resting on top of the head - that is not enough."
Rashi explains: the braiding of the hair of the nazirite woman, who submits to her mitzvah, is like a braid of purple yarn. Here he praises them for their nazirite devotion: nazirites are forbidden to cut the hair of their head (even though some discussed leniencies with a razor after a certain period), and in any case they grow their hair long - and the verse says that this hair is as beautiful as a braid of royal purple.
And what is "dalat roshech" (tresses of your head)? Rashi explains: because the braid is lifted up atop the head. When a person walks and the hair hangs down behind, after a long period of growth it becomes heavy and tangled; what would they do? They would bind it and gather it up to the crown of the head, just as women tie up their hair. Therefore it is called "dalat roshech" - from the language of lifting and raising (delyah), as in "to train (lehadlot) a vine," which means to elevate it; here too, the braid is elevated and gathered atop the head.
In his first explanation, Rashi connects this to the nazirite: the Name of the Omnipresent is bound up in these locks of hair, as it is stated, "the crown of his God is upon his head." The word "asur" (bound) here does not mean forbidden, but rather tied and bound - the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, bound and linked to those locks, for this crown is called "the crown of his God." And what is the connection between "rehatim" and locks? Rashi explains: rehatim, Old French "corenz," is the term for the braided cords of belts with which the belt is tied. When they tied a belt, cords hung down from it on the right and on the left, and with those plaited strands they would tie it - hence rehatim denotes plaits or locks, and here too it refers to that hair to which the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, bound.
Another interpretation: "A king is bound in the rehatim" - the Holy One, blessed be He, binds Himself in love through the mitzvot and the running that you run before Him. And what is the connection? "Rehit batrei" means running after him. And why is a door called a "rehit"? The Gemara says: because people are constantly running to it - a person runs to see who is at the door, and likewise "our rafters (rehitenu) are firs" - our doors are made of cypress trees. Thus, "a king is bound in the rehatim" means: Hashem binds Himself with us in love through the mitzvot and the running that we run before Him.
Someone once asked: "Tell me, where are they always running in Bnei Brak?" Indeed, that is how it looks: the avreichim run to the kollel, one runs to pick up the child from preschool to avoid a late fee, and another runs here and another there. But know - this running is precious before the Holy One, blessed be He. Provided that it is running for a mitzvah: walking briskly because one is heading to the synagogue, hurrying because one is heading to Torah study. This is beloved before Hashem, and He is "bound" by those very runs. We run and they run - they jog for fitness and we run for the sake of a mitzvah; fortunate are you, O Israel!
By way of mussar, a certain Rav would observe youths who grew long tufts of hair, with all kinds of elaborate crests on the crown of their heads, and would say of them: "Your head upon you is like Carmel, and the hair of your head [dalat roshech]" - the straw on the outside also testifies somewhat to what is inside, to the poverty (dalut) of the head within.
מַה יָּפִית וּמַה נָּעַמְתְּ אַהֲבָה בַּתַּעֲנוּגִים׃ - How beautiful you are and how pleasant, O love, with delights!
Rashi explains: After detailing the praise of each individual limb, Scripture summarizes everything together - how beautiful you are as a whole, and how pleasant it is to cleave to you, a love worthy of delight. Here we find, if you will, a summary: a comprehensive declaration that you are beautiful and pleasant. "Beautiful" speaks of visual splendor, but "pleasantness" refers to the experience of being close to someone - this is the essence of pleasantness. Therefore, it is "a love worthy of delight": a fitting love, directed toward someone whose company is a true pleasure.
זֹאת קוֹמָתֵךְ דָּמְתָה לְתָמָר וְשָׁדַיִךְ לְאַשְׁכֹּלוֹת׃ - This stature of yours is like a palm tree, and your breasts like clusters.
Rashi explains: We saw the beauty of your stature in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, when all the nations fell prostrate before the idol, yet you stood upright like this palm tree. This is the praise of Israel - like an erect palm, they did not kneel and they did not bow.
"And your breasts like clusters" - these are Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, who served as breasts from which you could nurse. As explained previously, breasts always represent the flow of nourishment and influence: you nurse vitality from them. They were the leaders, and Scripture likens them to clusters that produce liquid; in the same way, they poured forth, bestowed spiritual strength, and demonstrated to all that there is no reverence like reverence for your God. Where did they show this? When they jumped into the fiery furnace and the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered them, proving that no fear compares to the fear of your God, which led the nations to praise us. And Rashi concludes: Up to this point the nations sang their praises; from here onward, it is the voice of the Shechinah speaking to the exiled Jewish people among the nations.
אָמַרְתִּי אֶעֱלֶה בְתָמָר אֹחֲזָה בְּסַנְסִנָּיו וְיִהְיוּ נָא שָׁדַיִךְ כְּאֶשְׁכְּלוֹת הַגֶּפֶן וְרֵיחַ אַפֵּךְ כַּתַּפּוּחִים׃ - I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will grasp its boughs.' May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples.
Rashi explains: I boast of you among the heavenly hosts, that I will be exalted and sanctified through you in the lower world, as you sanctify My Name among the nations. "I said" - the Holy One, blessed be He, says to His heavenly entourage: I glory in the people of Israel. "I will climb the palm tree" - I am elevated and sanctified through you, for you reside in the earthly realm and sanctify My Name in the world. Just as it was said earlier, "This stature of yours is like a palm tree," because the palm is tall and does not bend, so too in this praise: we praise the Creator of the world, and Hashem glories in us.
"I will grasp its boughs" - and I hold fast and cleave to you, for "sansinim" means branches. Because you offer praise to the Name of the Creator, blessed be He, and sanctify His Name among the nations, like a palm tree that does not bow or kneel before the gods of the nations, Hashem says: I will cleave to you; I hold fast to the branches of the palm. This is an expression of the Holy One, blessed be He, cleaving to us.
"May your breasts be like clusters of the vine" - Rashi explains: "And now, verify My words." At first, one might read this as "I believed" (he'emanti), but the intention is "verify" (amti) - as in "validate/verify" (te'amti). That is to say: I praised you before the supernal princes, before the heavenly retinue, that you sanctify the name of Heaven and perform your deeds to magnify and glorify the Creator's Name in the world - now strive to live up to these expectations, so that My words were not spoken in vain. Therefore, "may they be" (ve-yihyu na) is phrased as a plea: that it may truly be so - that you not be enticed after the nations, and that the good and wise among you will remain firm in their faith to respond to those who entice you, so that the simple and weak among them may learn from them.
Those great figures who conducted debates against the heretics and mockers from among the nations who came to sway us from our faith and religion - they correspond to breasts, the aspect of nourishers and sustainers, and they are like clusters of the vine: just as the vine provides fruit through its clusters for all the people and for all who need it, so the Sages bestow from their faith and their responses to strengthen the weak, so that the simple may learn from them. And "the fragrance of your breath like apples" - for the fragrance travels far and wide. Those praiseworthy individuals are in the category of "clusters" (eshkolot), as our Sages expounded on the phrase "the clusters ceased" - a man who possesses everything (ish she-hakol bo), who embodies every virtue. They are the ones who spread the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the world, and sweep along with them even those of little faith, bringing them to believe in the One Who spoke and the world came into being.
וְחִכֵּךְ כְּיֵין הַטּוֹב הוֹלֵךְ לְדוֹדִי לְמֵישָׁרִים דּוֹבֵב שִׂפְתֵי יְשֵׁנִים׃ - And the roof of your mouth like the best wine, that goes down smoothly for my Beloved, stirring the lips of sleepers.
Rashi explains: "And the roof of your mouth like the best wine" - be careful with your answers, that they be like fine wine. "That goes down smoothly for my Beloved" - I am careful to answer them that I will remain steadfast in my faith, so that the speech of my palate goes before my Beloved with straightforward love, which stems from the heart and not through deception and crookedness. The palate represents speech, for speech issues from a person's palate; and here it refers to standing against the nations who bring arguments against us - how we stand firm before them and avoid being seduced by their enticements.
The Gemara records debates between the sages of the nations and the Sages of Israel in many places. One challenged: Why are you circumcised? Why are you not like us? They answered him: What we have already done cannot be undone; it is finished. The only possible solution is for you to be circumcised as well, and then we will be alike - a suggestion he certainly did not care for. The Sages of Israel always knew how to give a decisive, crushing reply to those heretics.
A story is told of the Rav of Brisk (the Brisker Rav), who was once traveling on a train. A priest sitting nearby began speaking with the students about that man (the founder of Christianity), claiming he heralded the redemption - may dust fill his mouth. The students replied, "What are you talking about? That man was an enticer and an instigator to idolatry, and he was sentenced to death." The priest said to them, "Know that he was the Messiah, and the Sages of Israel erred regarding him and failed to recognize his greatness." They said, "You are living today, two thousand years later, and claim they were mistaken? They lived in that very generation, knew him well, understood exactly who he was, and ruled that he deserved death." The priest retorted, "Look, Rabbi Akiva believed that Bar Kochba was the Messiah - was he right? He was mistaken. If so, here too the Sages of Israel were mistaken." The students were stumped. Seeing that they needed rescue, the Brisker Rav lifted his eyes from his book and said to the priest, "Tell me, who says Rabbi Akiva was mistaken?" The priest replied, "Well, in the end Bar Kochba died, which proves he was not the Messiah." The Brisker Rav responded, "If so, then you too admit that a messiah who died is not truly the messiah" - and returned to his study.
The Sages of Israel know how to give short, sharp, and decisive answers without drawn-out debates - and in this way, those of little faith and the simpler ones among us learn from them. This is the meaning of "And the roof of your mouth like the best wine - be careful with your answers." To this the bride replies: "Going down smoothly for my Beloved" - I am careful to answer them that I will stand firm in my faith; they come to entice me to follow their religion, and I tell them, absolutely not. The word meisharim ("smoothly" / "straightforwardly") denotes uprightness, from the heart, in contrast to crookedness (akivah), which implies tortuous winding - going around in circles rather than on a straight path. But the love between us and the Holy One, blessed be He, is direct and upright.
There is another story of a Jewish wagon driver who was giving a ride to a priest, and the priest never missed an opportunity to bring a Jew into the fold of the "religion of love and inquisitions." He began speaking to him about that man, but the Jew was not going along with it. The priest said to him, "Listen, I strongly recommend it - if you convert, know that there is a reward attached: we give five thousand rubles to anyone who joins our community." The wagon driver replied, "Now you have truly convinced me not to do it." The priest asked, "Why?" He said, "Look, I do not understand much; I am a wagon driver, and my father was a wagon driver, and what I understand is horses. My father taught me: if someone offers to trade his horse for yours and offers to pay you extra on top of that - run from it like fire, because it is a dead horse! I do not understand much, but I understand horses and wagon driving - and I already understand what you are trying to sell me." This is the meaning of "remaining firm in their faith to respond to those who entice them."
"Stirring the lips of sleepers" - Rashi comments: even my ancestors in the grave will rejoice over me and give thanks for their portion. "Stirring" (dovev) means murmuring or causing to whisper, fremir in Old French, and its root denotes speech. Fine wine stirs the lips of sleepers: even when a person falls asleep after drinking wine, his lips still move and murmur from the wine he drank. So too, even my ancestors in the grave will rejoice and give thanks for their portion - which is cleaving to Hashem, blessed be He.
אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְעָלַי תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ׃ - I am my Beloved's, and His desire is upon me.
Rashi explains: "I am my Beloved's" - I strengthen myself in faith in Him; "and His desire is toward me" - and He yearns for me. I strengthen myself in faith, and He too yearns for me and cleaves to me.
לְכָה דוֹדִי נֵצֵא הַשָּׂדֶה נָלִינָה בַּכְּפָרִים׃ - Come, my Beloved, let us go out into the field, let us lodge in the villages.
Kenesset Yisrael says: Master of the Universe, do not judge me like the inhabitants of the metropolises - the large cities, where theft and immorality are prevalent. In the big city there is always more promiscuity and more theft. In the standard text of Rashi before us, it says, "Rather, like the inhabitants of open towns (perazot), who are tradesmen and engage in Torah study amid hardship." But this presents a double difficulty: first, "open towns" is not an explanation of "field"; and second, immediately afterward Rashi expounds, "'Let us lodge in the villages [kefarim]' - let us lodge among the deniers [koferim]," and open towns are essentially villages, places without walls.
The Siftei Chachamim noticed this difficulty, and he emends the text to align with what is stated in the Gemara in Perek Osin Pasin: "Do not judge me like the inhabitants of metropolises, where theft and immorality are prevalent; rather, let us go out into the field, and I will show You Torah scholars who engage in Torah amid hardship." This truly reflects the expression "field" - neither a city nor a place of affluence. The Siftei Chachamim writes that it is an error in the editions of Rashi where it says "rather, like the inhabitants of open towns who are tradesmen," for the inhabitants of open towns are villagers, which would imply understanding "let us lodge in the villages" literally, whereas Rashi immediately expounds, "Do not read 'in the villages [kefarim]' but 'among the deniers [koferim]'"; furthermore, according to that faulty text, "let us go out into the field" is not explained at all. One is therefore compelled to accept this emendation.
In summary: "Come, my Beloved, let us go out into the field" - there in the field are the Torah scholars who engage in Torah amid hardship, unlike the inhabitants of the metropolises in the big cities, where people are less careful regarding theft and immorality.
"Let us lodge in the villages" - Rashi explains: let us lodge among the deniers (koferim); come and I will show You the descendants of Esav, upon whom You bestowed bounty yet they deny You. Kenesset Yisrael draws a contrast between herself and the deniers: see our virtue compared to the descendants of Esav, upon whom You showered good yet they deny You. According to this, one might suggest explaining "nalinah" not in the sense of lodging (linah), but in the sense of complaint (telunah): we come with a plea - Master of the Universe, look at the deniers, look at the descendants of Esav upon whom You bestowed bounty, and see how they act and how they deny You. Although this is not the literal meaning of the verse, it is a homiletical reading (derash).
נַשְׁכִּימָה לַכְּרָמִים נִרְאֶה אִם פָּרְחָה הַגֶּפֶן פִּתַּח הַסְּמָדַר הֵנֵצוּ הָרִמּוֹנִים שָׁם אֶתֵּן אֶת דֹּדַי לָךְ׃ - Let us arise early for the vineyards, let us see whether the vine has budded, whether the grape blossom has opened, whether the pomegranates are in bloom; there I will give You my love.
"Let us arise early for the vineyards" - these are the synagogues and study halls, such as the "vineyard at Yavneh." And why were the study halls called vineyards? Because the Sages sat in them in rows upon rows, like the rows of a vineyard.
"Let us see whether the vine has budded" - these are the masters of Scripture (Mikra), for Scripture is the first blossoming. "Whether the grape blossom has opened (pitach hasemadar)" - when the blossom falls and the grape berries become discernible, this is the opening of the semadar; and to this the masters of Mishnah are compared, for one is close to deriving benefit from them in practical Torah instruction. The Mishnah is an unfolding of Scripture: Scripture is the foundation and bedrock, while the Mishnah provides explanation and deeper inner meanings. From a verse alone, it is difficult to determine the Halachah, but when one has the Mishnah, one is far closer to reaching a halachic conclusion. If at first there was only a blossom, now "the grape blossom has opened," the grape begins to grow, and one can already deduce a matter of Halachah from it.
Incidentally, it is written that one who rules on Halachah directly from the Mishnah is called a "destroyer of the world" (mevaleh olam). However, it is written that in our times this is permitted, because we study the Mishnayot with the commentaries - the Bartenura, Tosafot Yom Tov, Yachin u-Voaz, Tiferet Yisrael, and others - and thus the conclusions of the Gemara are already presented there. In any event, the very fact that the Mishnah is more elucidated and closer to practical Halachah is itself "the opening of the grape blossom."
"The pomegranates are in flower (heitztu harimonim)" - when they are fully formed and the blossom around them drops off; "heitztu" means its blossom fell. To these he compared the masters of the Talmud, who possess complete wisdom and are qualified to issue halachic rulings. For the Gemara is an additional development: it raises a contradiction from one Mishnah to another and resolves it, "It is not difficult; here it refers to this case, and there to that case," thereby creating a distinction in halachah. Whoever opens the Shulchan Aruch or the Rambam sees this distinction: if one did this, such is the law, and if one did otherwise, the law is different - and it is all based on the distinction made by the Gemara resolving contradictory Mishnayot. Thus, the Talmud is far more elucidated and explicit, and from it one can already issue practical rulings.
"There I will give you my love" - there I will show You my honor and greatness, the praise of my sons and daughters. "I will give you my love" refers to my devotion, and how is it expressed? Through my clinging to the Torah: through the masters of Scripture, the masters of Mishnah, and the masters of Talmud - there I display my love for You. The love of Hashem is evident in the fulfillment of mitzvot, the study of Torah, and the performance of His will. A person cannot say, "I love the Holy One, blessed be He, very much," while doing nothing - where have you expressed that love? Love is expressed through fulfilling the will of Hashem, observing His mitzvot, and studying His Torah.
הַדּוּדָאִים נָתְנוּ רֵיחַ וְעַל פְּתָחֵינוּ כָּל מְגָדִים חֲדָשִׁים גַּם יְשָׁנִים דּוֹדִי צָפַנְתִּי לָךְ׃ - The mandrakes yield fragrance, and at our doors are all manner of choice fruits, new as well as old, which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
"The mandrakes (duda'im) yield fragrance" - the baskets (duda'ei) of good and bad figs, as it is stated in Yirmiyahu: "Hashem showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs," one basket having good figs and the other very bad figs that could not be eaten - these are the transgressors of Israel. The good figs are those that ripen and become edible, while the bad ones will never ripen; the good represent the righteous, and the bad represent the wicked. Now Knesset Yisrael comes and says: both of them have yielded fragrance; both the good and the bad have produced a sweet scent - all of them seek Your presence.
"And at our doors are all manner of choice fruits" - we possess the reward of many mitzvot, awaiting us at our doorsteps. One could say that it uses the term "at our doors" because there is no reward for mitzvot in this world; where, then, will the reward be? There, at the entrance to the World to Come. Perhaps it also hints at the opening of the grave, where, when a person arrives, his mitzvot come forth to greet him, or when the deceased departs from the doorway of his home. At any rate, the reward is not received now; rather, "at our doors" the reward of many mitzvot is preserved for us.
"New as well as old" - what the Scribes instituted anew, alongside the old that You wrote for me. Did we invent new mitzvot? Rather, the "new" refers to the enactments of Chazal, the rabbinic decrees (divrei Sofrim). For example: waiting six hours between meat and milk is a new ordinance instituted by the Scribes, whereas "You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk" and the prohibition against eating cooked meat and milk are the old. And we are careful with both: we refrain from eating meat cooked with milk, and we also wait six hours. This is the meaning of "new as well as old."
Here lies great praise for Knesset Yisrael. The primary oath with which the Holy One, blessed be He, adjured Israel - overturning the mountain upon them like a vat - was concerning the Oral Torah, for regarding the Written Torah they had already proclaimed, "We will do and we will hear." One can sign upon the Written Torah, for we know what appears in the contract and what is included in it; but the Oral Torah is like signing a blank sheet of paper - do I know what the Sages will write there in the future? For that they did not say "We will do and we will hear," and therefore it was necessary to suspend the mountain over them like a vat. And until when did this hesitation last? "They accepted it again in the days of Ahasuerus," as it is said, "The Jews fulfilled and accepted upon themselves" - and then they willingly accepted upon themselves the rabbinic mitzvot as well.
And if you ask: Were there already "new" mitzvot in the days of Shlomo? Indeed, King Shlomo instituted two enactments: the washing of hands (netilat yadayim) and the eruv. Thus, already in the days of Shlomo there were newly instituted mitzvot that are rabbinic - "new as well as old."
"Which I have stored up for you, my beloved" - Rashi explains: For Your Name and for Your service I have treasured them in my heart. "Tzafun" (stored up) refers to something guarded: I preserve the mitzvot in my heart for Your Name and Your service, performing them for the sake of Heaven. This is the meaning of "for you" - so that His Name will be sanctified through me, and to give pleasure to my Creator.
Another explanation in Rashi: I have stored them up to show You that I fulfilled them. Just as we explained regarding "at our doors are all manner of choice fruits," that we possess the reward of many mitzvot which we will merit in the future, so too here: we store them up with ourselves to display in the future - Master of the Universe, see that we fulfilled them. This is similar to what we find regarding Shmuel: when the medium raised him up, he brought Moshe Rabbeinu with him to testify on his behalf that he had fulfilled everything written in the Torah, because he feared he was being summoned to judgment - and so he brought witnesses that he fulfilled it all. We too, as it were, store up the mitzvot and good deeds to show You that we fulfilled them. And this echoes what Chazal taught: "Praiseworthy is he who arrives here with his learning in hand" - things stored up with him, which he will be able to demonstrate and display in the World to Come: Behold, I have fulfilled Your mitzvot.
At the conclusion of the chapter, we see the circle of praise reach completion: the nations laud Israel for the tefillin upon their heads, for the sanctity of the nazir, and for standing tall like a palm tree before the idol of Nebuchadnezzar; and from here onward, the Shechinah speaks with the Congregation of Israel in exile - boasting of her before the Heavenly retinue, and asking that she validate these words and stand firm in her faith against the seducers with responses that are like fine wine, upright from the heart and free of deceit. And the Congregation of Israel responds: "I am my Beloved's, and His desire is for me," inviting her Beloved to go forth into the field and into the vineyards - to the Torah scholars who engage in Torah study amidst hardship, to the synagogues and study halls, to those versed in Scripture, Mishnah, and Talmud. There, through the study of Torah and the fulfillment of the mitzvos, love is granted. And finally, "The new as well as the old, my Beloved, I have saved for You" - we observe both the commandments of the Torah and the enactments of the Sages, treasuring them in our hearts for His Name and His service, to display before Him in the Future to Come that we have fulfilled His word.